In 2015, 193 United Nations members agreed 17 global goals for “transforming the world” by 2030. But how do we get there? And what are the first steps? Part of the answer is digital entrepreneurship, an area where the developing world faces both an unprecedented challenge and a unique opportunity. Those are the key themes of Working Group Report: Digital Entrepreneurship, a new study produced for the United Nations Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development. The working group was led by Andrus Ansip, vice-president of the European Commission, commissioner on the UN Broadband Commission and chair of the Working Group on Digital Entrepreneurship. In collaboration with the European Commission and the International Telecommunication Union, the Lisbon Council served as project secretariat, leading a six-month long reflection with the 31-member working group and supplementing those discussions with additional interviews, research and input. The report analyses the emerging framework for digital entrepreneurship in the development context and proposes a nine-point action plan with ambitious targets for all stakeholders – including regulators, legislators, educators and entrepreneurs themselves.

Vice-President Ansip formally launched Working Group Report: Digital Entrepreneurship at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.